Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note: Since the last chapter was so short I made this one a little longer to make up the difference. The previous story had a lot of angst and this one will have some too here and there when the situation calls for it but I wanted to focus more on personal growth, Owen reclaiming his life, and him fighting to protect his friends and family. It's the same for Eris despite her situation being a little more complicated than that. Her parents basically left her with the council and two other members stepped in to act as her parents/mentors but its hard to say yet if they actually got along or not since she always made excuses for why Owen should never go to her house before all this happened.

Eris's biological parents don't want anything to do with her and Owen's parents are no longer alive but we know now that his mother had been keeping secrets from him and his father to keep them safe which unfortunately backfired. So basically each of them has their part to play, including a certain someone from Vlad's past who might be making a surprise appearance at some point in the future. Dun Dun DUNN!

Chapter 3: The Reason We Fight

Vlad's POV

Knocking on his door despite knowing full well Owen was already well aware of my presence I entered when he gave me permission to and that's when I noticed how intently Owen was staring down at the pages of his family Grimoire. It was the same deeply contemplative look he'd worn while reading a book purely for recreational purposes the day we met. Yet at the same time there was this almost frantic glint to his eyes too I knew all too well, the look of someone desperate for answers who clearly isn't getting them fast enough.

Recognizing this as the same restlessness Owen has been struggling with the past few days I decided it would be best to help him work through it rather than insist he try putting them out of his mind for now because that obviously wasn't an option. And hopefully by letting Owen let off some steam it might help him muster up more of an appetite than when we first arrived back home...

"If you're not too engrossed in your studies Owen would you mind coming down to the lab with me? There's another belated birthday gift I nearly forgot to give you earlier that I'm sure you'll find very useful. I'd like to make sure it fits you properly too just in case I need to make any last minute adjustments." I smiled, certain he'd catch the hint right away.

Having successfully grabbed his full attention Owen asked me curiously. "No way, did you actually do it...?"

"Do what my boy?" I replied innocently.

Closing the Grimoire Owen sat up to look me in the eye and responded knowingly. "I overheard you talking to Eris about a 'battle suit' you had made for me to match yours and I thought you were joking about it. But I'm telling you right now, if it has a cape then that's a hard no for me. I'm not really interested in being a carbon copy of the 'Wisconsin ghost.'"

Placing a hand over my heart, feigning indigence, I pouted. "Owen, I'm surprised at you! Surely you know I have more sense than that? As amusing as I find that idea lets face it you probably could not pull off a cape as well as I do on the best of days."

"Jee thanks." Owen laughed before giving me a pointed look and adding. "Ok but seriously, no capes alright?"

Nodding I transformed and waited a moment for him to follow my example. I've been working on helping Owen grow more accustomed to this new form which we have dubbed his Necromancer form since he isn't exactly half-ghost like I am. We share many similarities of course which has made things a little easier but Owen and I still have much to learn about the true nature of this power. Essentially, when Owen transforms it is more like he is...overshadowing his own body which biologically is completely human otherwise.

Owen's blood by itself doesn't carry an ounce of ectoplasmic power until he transforms in which case it becomes what we have decided to call 'necroenergy' because of the unique properties it carries that work together with his soul fire, the core of his being. In fact, when we introduced to a sample of unfiltered ectoplasm to a drop his blood while in his other form we discovered he naturally purifies the majority of it and still repels the rest which is a fascinating thing to watch. But I suppose when you consider the fact that Necromancers themselves have the ability to repel hostile ghosts, greatly boost the powers of their ghostly allies, and in rare cases even heal them it all makes perfect sense.

Once we made it down to the lab I told Owen his battle suit would be waiting for him in the changing room and to let me know if everything fit alright before we proceeded to the training room. He nodded then left without a word so in the meantime I went over the checklist of abilities we had yet to test or discover if Owen had a version of in general. From what we can tell Owen has most of the basics ranging from flight, intangibility, to energy attacks and shields. But he cannot use invisibility for whatever reason...

It's entirely possibly we just haven't been able to successfully tap into that power yet but my theory is Owen lacks this particular ability as a trade off for being able to see clearly ghosts regardless of the form they take. Regardless of whether or not a ghost has duplicated themselves, become invisible, or are overshadowing someone they cannot escape his gaze. And there are plenty of other abilities unique to Owen because he's no ordinary Necromancer, he's a Revenant or a Living Ghost. In fact, that's the only reason Owen has a separate form at all that's even remotely similar to a ghost. It's because once upon a time he WAS something close to a ghost before being reincarnated.

I suspect there's a lot more to Owen than meets the eye apart from everything I've stated above but for now it's enough to know there are still ways I can help him adapt. We're learning all this together and luckily I have twenty years worth of experience with ghosts and having ghost related powers so it's not too difficult to find a middle ground we can both relate to on some level. As for the rest, well, it will come back to him in due time I'm sure.

A few minutes later Owen finally reemerged to show me the end result of trying on the new battlesuit. And yes, I stuck to the black and white theme to somewhat match mine but the rest had a far more updated aesthetic than I'm sure Owen was expecting. The base of the suit consisted of a sleeveless white turtleneck with a black collar, waistline, and trim that lined each side of him. To complete the look Owen was given a pair of tall black boots and fingerless sleeves to cover most of his arms since he still needed a little more time to grow accustomed to being able to see his bones beneath the glowing blue translucent skin that went from his fingertips nearly up to the crown of his shoulders.

Now I know what you're thinking, this sounds like more of a fashion statement than actual protective gear and you would be right except for one important detail. We discovered through the mishap with Owen's would-be kidnappers that whenever a part of his body is at risk of injury so long as he braces himself in time it becomes reinforced by the same necroenergy his arms change into. To put it simply, he has almost the same level of supernatural endurance as Daniel and I do that protects us from harm that would almost certainly be lethal to any average human otherwise. So keeping that in mind I think we can afford to prioritize Owen's looks at least a little bit considering how the outfit itself is made of a special reinforced yet flexible mesh of my own creation.

Stretching his arms and experimenting with a few more twists of the body Owen looked over at me with a hint of embarrassment and admitted. "Ok you win, this does look pretty cool. It's surprisingly comfortable too and easy to move around in."

"And you'll note the distinct lack of a cape too." I teased, lightly poking him in the chest as well. "No insignia either since I'm not about to let you go follow in Daniel's footsteps and start playing hero."

Brushing me off Owen added. "Well it's too soon to say that Vlad because I might just decide to do that anyway. Not fighting ghosts mind you but teaching those council jerks a thing or two about messing with my friends and family."

"I suppose that's fair." I smiled, ruffling his hair which for the most part was still mostly white in this form as well but the black portion had faded into a lovely shade of cerulean blue. Getting back to the matter at hand though I instructed. "Now that we know it fits I would like for you to change back so we can see if it will remain on you the same as it does for Daniel and I. I don't see why it wouldn't but better safe than sorry. And don't worry, I have spares stored away should we ever need to replace this."

A moment later Owen did just that and much to my relief the transition was seamless which would make the rest much easier for both of us. Now he wouldn't have to change clothes every single time we came here for training unless they needed to be washed or repaired. So from there we conducted a few more tests and had Owen go through his paces to help us gauge his progress so far. I wanted to be sure he was ready before deciding whether or not it was time to move him up to the next level. Well, that and I had still yet to decide how we were going to include Daniel in this process since I did promise to train him too as part of our agreement to a truce...

Although at this point I'd argue we've managed to forge a real alliance.

At any rate, while observing Owen during target practice a pattern became clear to me I made sure to make a mental note of for later. Like Daniel he's a quick learner so once the exercises became too predictable I knew I'd have to start adding a randomized element to it. Of course, things would be a lot easier if Owen had some healthy competition to compete with which at the moment is difficult to give him with Daniel living so far away from us. Unless, that is, I arranged for us to stay a little closer to my dear old friend Jack Fenton for...moral support in becoming a new father.

Owen's POV

Feeling a lot better after our improvised training session this time I joined them for dinner because by then I was freaking starving. Vlad's mood brightened when I told him that too which was a nice bonus as far as lightening the overall gloomy mood after such a long day. Eris on the other hand seemed a bit distracted, like she had something to say but I didn't want to put any pressure on her since we all had plenty of our own demons to face right now so to speak. And really, she has a lot more reasons to feel frustrated than I do since her powers aren't meant for battle so Eris can't exactly train with us for obvious reasons.

I appreciate everything she's done for us though and so does Vlad. Hell, being able to enjoy so many different scents of candles with protective and relaxing effects has done wonders keeping me from going insane. Honestly I would have felt a lot worse off if Eris hadn't started making them for me or teaching me how to do it myself. It's all about channeling mental and spiritual energy anyway so in a way Eris is helping me find alternative ways to deal with a lot of my anxiety on top of everything Vlad's taught me because yeah, my mind's kinda all over the place.

We had just finished getting all caught up on what happened today while Vlad and I were at the police station when Eris stopped me after taking a deep breath then said. "I'm glad you guys were able to get out of there without any issues because things could have gone very differently if the council had time to send in a few members they have in the police force here instead. So it's only a matter of time before those seven who were arrested are mysteriously transferred to another prison like Owen was sent off to Mistveil..."

"Right, you did warn us of that possibility." Vlad nodded, glancing over at her thoughtfully. "But I get the impression that there's something else you're trying to say, correct?"

"Yes there is. I've been thinking about it all day but I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely sure this is the direction I want to go in." Eris answered, turning to face both of us and continuing. "Vlad, I can never thank you enough for being there for Owen when I couldn't be and opening my eyes to how stupid I've been. You trusted me even though I used to work for the people who are after him for the same reasons Kurst was, to gain control over him and his gifts. I genuinely used to think the council wanted what's best for us when really I was only being brainwashed into becoming another pawn in their game of power. So I think it's about time we bring the fight to their doorstep and take them down from the inside."

"Are you insane?!" I suddenly blurted out, rushing to my feet. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you go back there when we know exactly what they're capable of now!"

"Language Owen." Vlad chided mildly, calmly meeting her gaze and silently gesturing for me to sit back down. "He's right though. Are you sure you're up to the task? There's always a chance they'll expose you as a traitor long before you uncover anything that might be of use to our cause."

Rounding on him next after reluctantly taking my seat again I groaned loudly. "Not you too."

"I'm just being realistic because in all fairness I also believe it would make things much easier if we have someone on the inside supplying us with more information. Quite frankly I've been meaning to go through our list of remaining options with both of you for much the same reason I'm sure Eris is choosing to bring this up now. The fact of the matter is the situation has changed a great deal since the last time we spoke about this. The council is a lot more resourceful than I first gave them credit for which means it would do well for us to accept Eris's generous offer."

Glancing over her shoulder at me Eris insisted with a confident smile. "This is something I have to do for myself too, not just you. I want answers just as badly as the rest of you and now might be my only chance to worm my way back into their good graces long enough to give Vlad the opportunity to turn their whole operation inside out. Think about it. The council has no idea Kurst is the one who kidnapped me so it's the perfect cover story to explain where I've been all this time without letting them know I've gone rogue.

"I'll just tell them he was some crazy spook who kept spouting lies about some big conspiracy theory surrounding the council and how it took ages for me to finally get away from him so I could report back in. I mean, they don't know any better or have a way to track him down in the spirit world where Kurst is being kept under lock and key inside a ghost-catching thermos so they'll just have to take my word for it."

Slumped my shoulders in defeat since I couldn't really argue with her logic there I sighed heavily. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to talk you out of this?"

Looking at me smugly Eris announced. "Nope."

"I still don't like it but fine, if that's your decision then I won't stop you." I replied, knowing better than to argue with her because once her mind's made up that's that and nothing can stop Eris from doing what she believes is right which is something we definitely have in common...

I won't bore you with the details but we spent the rest of dinner coming up with a way to safely catch the council's attention to her so they'll take her back to their headquarters. It took a lot of convincing too for Eris to finally agree to keep a tracker on her at all times just in case things went south again like they almost did with me back in Salem. I told her it would help me feel a bit better about the whole thing since I still wasn't thrilled with the idea of sending Eris back into the heart of the lion's den alone. But I also know we're all trying to do our part to make things better so really who am I to tell her she can't take any risks when each and every one of us is fighting right now for a better tomorrow?